St. Louis, Mo., is steeped in soccer tradition. From a collection of clubs that dominated the U.S. Open Cup throughout the 20th century to the nearly 30 St. Louisans to be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame, the city has played a key role in soccer’s advancement in the United States.
The arrival of Major League Soccer’s St. Louis CITY SC in 2023 has put the city back on the national and international soccer map. Reinforcing the top-flight club is a significant support system bolstered by a long-standing collection of amateur, collegiate and academy clubs throughout the region. This year, a nascent amateur club playing in the Midwest Premier League, BOHFS St. Louis, has made an improbable run to the 2026 U.S. Open Cup to become the first amateur side from St. Louis to participate in the tournament proper since the modern era kicked off in 1995.
SOCCER IN ST. LOUIS
It’s difficult to overstate the importance of St. Louis in the development and emergence of soccer in the United States, especially in relation to both the U.S. Open Cup and the U.S. Men’s National Team.
The city—a booming metropolis in the early 20th century which hosted major global events like the Summer Olympics and World’s Fair, both in 1904—had teams claim 10 Open Cup titles through six clubs over the course of nearly seven decades: Ben Millers (1920), Scullin Steel (1922), Stix, Baer and Fuller/St. Louis Central Breweries (1933, 1934, 1935), St. Louis Simpkins-Ford (1948, 1950), St. Louis Kutis SC (1957, 1986) and St. Louis Busch Seniors (1988). Only New York City can claim more Open Cup titles as a city.
On the international stage, multiple players competing for a St. Louis-based club represented the USMNT in the 1930, 1934 and 1950 FIFA World Cups, and 77 St. Louis-born players have earned a cap for the men’s national team. The USMNT has also played in St. Louis on 13 occasions between 1957 and 2024.
Since the golden age of St. Louis soccer, the sport has only continued to expand in the region. In just the past few years, lower-division professional sides like the NASL’s AC St. Louis (2010) and USL Championship’s Saint Louis FC (2015-20) helped pave the way for a return to professional soccer in the city, laying the foundation for MLS to expand to St. Louis in 2023 through St. Louis CITY SC.
Beyond the professional ranks, the St. Louis soccer scene has been defined by the success of local academy and collegiate teams: St. Louis Scott Gallagher and Lou Fusz Athletic at the academy level, and Saint Louis University and Washington University at the collegiate level. The MAC Hermann Trophy—men’s and women’s college soccer’s top individual honor—has been awarded annually since 1967 by the St. Louis-based Missouri Athletic Club.
Today, St. Louis is still a soccer hotbed. On an individual level, the city has produced the likes of Taylor Twellman and Becky Sauerbrunn, and more recently, current USMNT players Tim Ream, Josh Sargent and Patrick Schulte, and in a return to international notoriety, St. Louis CITY SC’s Energizer Park was recently announced as one of seven venues for men’s and women’s soccer at the 2028 Summer Olympics.
While the giants of the past and the emergence of newcomers has dominated the city’s soccer narrative, St. Louis still boasts a collection of amateur squads reminiscent of decades prior.
HOW BOHFS ST. LOUIS WAS BORN
Alen Bradaric, BOHFS St. Louis’ founder, president and head coach, was born in Bosnia. Like many families in the Balkans, Bradaric and his family were forced to disperse in the early 1990s due to the Bosnian War. The Bradarics spent time in Germany before settling in St. Louis in 1999, where Bradaric attended middle school, high school and college.
Bradaric played at then-NAIA school Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo., just outside St. Louis, captaining the Lions to Heart of America Conference (HAAC) Men’s Soccer Tournament titles in 2008 and 2009. After college, Bradaric bounced around the world, suiting up for amateur teams in Australia, Germany and back home in St. Louis.
Upon his return to St. Louis, Bradaric gathered a group of friends for a casual, pick-up soccer team. The team—BOHFS St. Louis—was formed in 2022, and its identity was designed to feature subtle nods to Bradaric’s Bosnian roots.
“The club’s name started as an inside joke among close friends. It essentially means ‘homies,’ ‘buddies’ or ‘brothers.’ It reflects camaraderie,” Bradaric explained. “The crest was inspired by the [AFC] Ajax logo. The fez in the design nods to our Bosniak heritage without making the club explicitly ethnic. We didn’t want to name it something like ‘FC Bosnia St. Louis,’ but we wanted a subtle reference to our roots. At the same time, the team includes players from many backgrounds who all call St. Louis home.”
From there, the team was primarily utilized by Bradaric and his friends to socialize and stay fit, playing at local parks on the weekends and after work. Not long after its formation, though, a pair of opportunities emerged that completely changed the trajectory of the upstart team.
“A few years ago, Lindenwood University had a spring game scheduled, but their opponent canceled the week of the match,” Bradaric said. “Their coach called me and asked if I could put together a team. We did, and it turned out to be a very competitive and enjoyable game. Afterward, we thought, ‘Why can’t we do this more often?’
“At first, it was still casual—just pickup games. Then in December [2024], the Midwest Premier League reached out because a team had folded and they needed someone to fill the spot. I figured there was no better time than now. It might not have been ideal timing, but we decided to go for it.”
FROM THE QUALIFYING ROUNDS TO THE TOURNAMENT PROPER
Since joining the regional amateur Midwest Premier League in early 2025, BOHFS has continued to defy expectations. Now with Bradaric coaching the team and managing all off-field aspects, the young club finished second in the MWPL’s Gateway Conference, South Division in its first season, and made the decision to participate in the 2026 U.S. Open Cup Qualifying Rounds.
Following a First Qualifying Round bye, BOHFS hit the road, earning a pair of two-goal victories against Kansas’ Woodland FC in the Second Qualifying Round and Nebraska’s Omaha Street FC in the Third Qualifying Round.
“In our first game, we brought 14 players,” Bradaric explained. “One was ruled ineligible due to a roster issue, and another forgot his driver’s license, so we were down to one substitute—a goalkeeper who ended up coming on.
In the Fourth Qualifying Round—a win away from the U.S. Open Cup proper—BOHFS matched up against former professional side and current MWPL foe Chicago House AC. Its first qualifier at home, BOHFS outlasted Chicago House, leading at halftime before closing the match out with a 3-2 victory to become one of just 16 clubs out of a field of 145 amateur squads to advance to the tournament proper.
“By the time we faced Chicago House in the final qualifier, it was special,” Bradaric shared. “We played at home in front of friends, family, and members of the local soccer community. St. Louis Magazine even came out. That game really elevated awareness of the club.
“The Chicago House qualifier is easily my favorite memory. Seeing the look on [Chicago’s] bench in the closing stages—knowing what was at stake—and feeling the genuine joy from our supporters afterward was unforgettable.”
A BIG TEST ON A BIG STAGE
In a full-circle moment for the young club, BOHFS St. Louis will return to Lindenwood University for its first proper U.S. Open Cup contest. The MWPL amateurs will face professional opposition for the first time, hosting two-time USL League One champion and third-division heavyweights, Union Omaha, at Lindenwood on Wednesday, March 18. The match will be broadcast nationally on Paramount+ and simulcast on CBS Sports Golazo Network.
“If you had asked me four months ago if we’d ever be on national television, I would’ve laughed,” Bradaric said. “When I saw CBS and Paramount+ attached to our game, it didn’t feel real.
“To host a U.S. Open Cup match now—and against a strong opponent like Union Omaha—is incredible. And to have it at Lindenwood, where this whole journey really began, makes it even more meaningful.”
Union Omaha have made two previous trips to St. Louis, falling to Major League Soccer’s St. Louis CITY SC in the 2023 and 2025 editions of the Open Cup. The Owls, though, have previously picked up a pair of victories against MLS opponents in the 2022 Open Cup—when they reached the Quarterfinals—and have never lost to an amateur club in official competition.
“They’re the clear favorites,” Bradaric said of Omaha. “They’re professionals with high expectations in their league. The pressure isn’t on us. We’ll stay compact, be aggressive, try to be disruptive and take our chances.
“At our core, we’re a group of guys who enjoy playing for each other. Many are in their mid-to-late 30s—some played professionally, others in local leagues. This Open Cup run has given them a chance to experience something special. We don’t want to take that away by bringing in outside players just because there’s more attention now. The guys who got us here deserve to see it through.”
Regardless of next month’s result, Bradaric sees his team’s Open Cup participation as a victory in itself, and the significance of being mentioned in the same breath as some of St. Louis’ great clubs is more than fulfilling.
“It’s humbling,” Bradaric said of BOHFS’ journey to the Open Cup. “We’re proud and grateful. None of our players are paid. This is purely for the love of the game. That connects us more to the historic amateur teams from St. Louis that won the Open Cup decades ago than to today’s fully professional clubs.
“We can’t compare ourselves to legendary St. Louis teams of the past. They were arguably the best in the nation at the time. But simply being mentioned alongside past St. Louis clubs competing in the same tournament is enough for us.”
